Second Battle of Yodogawa

The Second Battle of Yodogawa was a battle that occurred in the autumn of 1352 when Ashikaga Yoshiakira and his army of Ashikaga troops attacked an invading Southern Court army under Minamoto Sadasuke on a bridge connecting Arima Province in the south to Settsu Province in the north. The battle occurred shortly after the First Battle of Yodogawa, and the battle was another decisive Ashikaga victory.

History
In early 1352, Emperor Go-Murakami and general Ochi Genta led a Southern Court army on a campaign against the Akamatsu clan in Settsu Province, and the Southern Court made the mistake of declaring war on the Ashikaga in the process. After being mauled by the Akamatsu army, the Southern Court army was annihilated in the First Battle of Yodogawa by Ashikaga Yoshiakira's army in Settsu, a crushing blow to the Southern Court. The deaths of Go-Murakami and Ochi Genta left Minamoto Sadasuke as the new commander of the Southern Court forces, and his army attempted an invasion of Settsu Province through Arima Province once more. His army halted on the northern bank of the Yodo River, just across from where the emperor had been slain earlier that year, and Yoshiakira led his Ashikaga army to fight the Southern Court at that location once more. The ensuing battle would henceforth be known as the "Second Battle of Yodogawa".

Battle
The Ashikaga army and the Southern Court army were again geographically separated, this time by the Yodo River. The Ashikaga forces deployed not far from the crossing, as there was no chance that they could arrive at the bridge before the Southern Court forces could. However, they attacked the Southern Court troops as they were funneled across the bridge, and the ensuing battle saw Yoshiakira rally his forces. The battle was bloody, and the Southern Court troops were routed after some heavy fighting against numerically-superior Ashikaga troops. The battle ended in a decisive Ashikaga victory, with Sadasuke being slain and the Southern Court force being annihilated in the second battle for the Yodo River.